Page 33 of To Ignite a Dragon's Desire

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Damn you, you bastard.

I approached Malachy’s broken and bleeding human form as he pulled himself up to stand on two feet. “Who did this?” I barked.

My older brother was a general pain in the ass on the best of days and I was one of the few who told him as much.

He grinned with a busted lip. “Is that how you greet your guardian?”

“Don’t start that shit with me.” I folded my arms over my chest. “What happened?”

“I wouldn’t have to throw titles around if you’d…” His nostrils flared.

I stepped to the side, possessively blocking his view while Riley’s dainty steps sounded on the stairs to the roof. As proud as I was that she felt safe enough to disobey my order to stay put, I wished she’d picked a better time.

“Is that a human?” he sneered.

Apparently, he wasn’t injured enough because he was searching for more pain.

“Watch yourself,Guardian,”I growled.

My brother may have been big enough to fit his destined role, but it was only birth order that determined his place. We had the same genetics. I was just as big and mean, and I’d had plenty of opportunities to prove it.

“You have company.” Malachy remembered decorum, standing taller even as he swayed a little to the side and the slash on his chest opened, spilling more blood. “My apologies for interrupting.”

Shadows gathered at his sides and his skin turned green as scales tinted with gold began to form.

“Knock it off.” I grabbed him by the back of the neck, hating Riley’s frightened gasp. “You’re in no condition to shift, much less fly. Now tell me what happened before I have to beat it out of you.”

Malachy tried to shake me off, but he was weak from blood loss and it didn’t have much effect. “It was the—”

A shrieking cry came from outside my wards.

Malachy’s eyes widened. “I led them here.”

I followed his gaze to where Riley stood.

“Lucan?” The fear in her tone went straight to my heart. My skin crawled. A rumble came in the distance, echoing like thunder. Sparks flew when something crashed against my wards.

Earth chose that moment to shake, reminding us of her power, and how easily we played the game of life and death on her fields.

So far, I was still winning.

My wards would hold against any invaders, but I wasn’t sure how long Riley’s newly found boldness would last with yet another shock to her system.

“Let’s get you both safely inside and then I’ll handle them.” I grabbed my brother’s arm, helping him along a bit faster and ignoring his sharp intake of breath.

He’d heal with a few hours of rest.

More blood ran down his chest when I put his arm over my shoulder. A hint of white bone poked through torn skin on his ribs.

Might need a few days.

“I’ve got him.” A shutter slammed over Riley’s eyes as her jaw clenched. She rushed to my side, pushing me out of the way. “You go take care of that.”

I stumbled back at the force of her command.

Despite the pounding of her heart, there was no scent of fear, and she managed to hold my heavy brother up with her own strength.

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